Since I don't have the supplies to shoot right now I've been spending the time giving my revolvers an inside/out cleaning. Working on the '51 R-M Conversion in 38 Spl. I found I had a severe lead fouling problem that I had not noticed. Usually I clean with hot soapy water and patches ending with patches soaked in Bore Butter, but this time I ran a wire brush down the barrel and pulled out strips of lead, several over 4 inches long. Pre-cleaning inspection had shown a nice shinny barrel with lands visible.

I'm reloading with 21 gr. BP, a fiber card, topped with a .357 dia. RNFP. I've experienced leading around the forcing cones and maybe the first inch or so of barrel before, but never the whole length of a barrel.

what kind of bullet are you using? if your barrel is still factory mint percussion, your going to have skidding bullets unless you try a hollowbase bullet or go with heeled bullets.

however the biggest issue you have is your cleaning regimine. your bore butter doesnt do squat on lead fouling. Id suggest a product designed for lead and copper fouling. hoppes no 9 is what i use on a barrel.

Unddersized bullets in a .38 Special conversion aren't uncommon. Your solution is either heel based bullets (think about a .22LR and the way it's designed) or you can use soft leaf bullets with a hollow base. I have 3 Remington Navy conversions and this was my solution and it works pretty well. The hollow base acts like a minie-ball expanding when it's fired so the bullet fills the bore.

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